阿爾伯特·哈伯德 / Elbert Hubbard
阿爾伯特·哈伯德（1856—1915），美國著名出版家和作家。《菲士利人》、《兄弟》雜誌的總編輯，羅伊科羅斯特出版社創始人。1899年，阿爾伯特·哈伯德創作了《致加西亞的信》，在《菲士利人》雜誌上發表後，引起了全世界的強烈轟動，這本小冊子在世界各地廣為流傳，全球銷量超過8億冊，成為有史以來世界上最暢銷的讀物之一，列入全球最暢銷圖書排行榜第六名。
Ace in the Hole
Understand these new words before you read this article.
1.perihelion [,peri'hi:li?n] n.近日點
2.oilskin ['?il,skin] n.油布（雨衣），防水布（衣）
3.stiffen ['stif?n] v.（使）變硬；（使）強硬
4.vertebrae ['v?t?brei] n.椎骨
5.slipshod ['sl?p,??d] adj.馬虎的，隨便的，草率的
6.imbecility [,?mb?'s?l?t?] n.愚笨；低能，弱智，愚蠢行為
7.ingratitude [?n'gr?t?,tju:d] n.忘恩負義
In all this Cuban business there is one man stands out on the horizon of my memory like Mars at perihelion.
When war broke out between Spain and the United States, it was very necessary to communicate quickly with the leader of the Insurgents.Garcia was somewhere in the mountain fastnesses of Cuba—no one knew where.No mail or telegraph message could reach him.The President must secure his co-coperation, and quickly.What to do?
Some said to the President, “There’s a fellow by the name of Rowan who will find Garcia for you, if anybody can.”
Rowan was sent for and given a letter to be delivered to Garcia.How the “fellow by the name of Rowan” took the letter, sealed it up in an oilskin pouch, strapped it over his heart, in four days landed by night off the coast of Cuba from an open boat, disappeared into the jungle, and in three weeks came out on the other side of the Island, having traversed a hostile country on foot and delivered his letter to Garcia—are things I have no special desire now to tell in detail.The point that I wish to make is this: McKinley gave Rowan a letter to be delivered to Garcia; Rowan took the letter and did not ask, “Where is he at?”